In search of a possible alternative to my trusty DD-20 Delay from Boss, I sat down with the Hardwire DL-8 Delay/Looper. In many repects the Hardwire pedal is the equal to any from the boss line. Offering a load of useful features, that you can read in full detail elsewhere, The DL-8 closely aligns its self to the Boss DD-7. It outshines it with more delay time and a few extra settings, such a Lo-Fi and Slapback that allows you to really scrutinize the delay time of your slap. Lo-Fi is an intresting setting. It allow the trails to get covered by the guitar's dry signal allowing you tone to remain unmuddied by delay trails in busier parts of the song. All in all its a solid little pedal. But its not all so pretty...
Its Awkwardly Sized
This pedal was thought through. The packaging is definitely a step above the rest. It comes with pre-cut velcro and a cover to keep your knobs from turning. I like that they have thought about these things. It makes it easier for those that run pedalboards and need to secure their settings. The wide footprint, however, is evidence that these pedal were designed before the "micro" fad really hit its stride. EHX and Line6 both had large delay boxes that were doing very well, so when this had come out it was considered middle of the road. I like the sturdy feel, but I also have a small pedalboard. I don't know if they needed the extra room due to pedal design, but it is a little bit of an odd shape for a single button pedal. Maybe they couldn't fit all that delay into a "standard" size box.
It's True Bypass-ish
There is a hidden switch they've included. Which I'm sure does something. However, knowing what I know, I can feel pretty sure saying that the switch does little in the way of bypassing the entire pedal. Like most of the pedals built in the "Boss" style, it has a momentary switch and that corresponds with a flip flop circuit and that by nature is not "true" bypass. I believe that it might bypass the buffer, or even the whole delay circuit, but that pedal wont switch without running though that flip flop. But the option to have a truer bypass is nice. I wish Boss would follow suit. This is a great feature and out of the box thinking, but before we praise them too much for their features, there is one feature that is such an oversight that Homer Simpson called them to tell them they were idiots.
There Is No External Tap Tempo Out
Sweet mercy! This is this the mother of blunders! To their credit, The Hardwire series that Digitech designed was put out just before everyone went crazy about tapping their tempos. Some of the bigger boxes like the Line6 DL4 and Boss DD-20 had either a disignated tap tempo button or jack for an external pedal. The DD-7, the most comparable pedal to this one, has nearly every feature plus the external tap tempo for the same money and less space on the pedalboard. However these pedals were most like designed at the same time by different people, so it is not like that had something to compare themselves to. Actually when you compare this pedal to the Boss DD-6, the Hardwire DL-8 beats it on all fronts. The DD-6 has less delay time and no external tap temp out. Too bad Boss upped the ante with the DD-7 and supplied a feature that was actually in demand.
Looper Might Be A Bit Of An Exaggeration.
To be honest I bought this pedal for a delay, but the Looper feature was surprisingly useful. I'm not a particularly enthusiastic fan of loops, but they can be useful. I use a Digitech JamMan for a band that was the only guitar player for. The looping feature is similar to the Sound On Sound feature found on most Boss delays. In fact, Boss could call all of their delay pedals delay/looper if Hardwire can call this pedal a looper. If you are looking for a delay and don't have great need of a superlative looping pedal, then this works for you. The best feature of the loop setting is that it is triggered by the input, making the beginning of the loop easier to start than timing the perfect stomp. This works at a great practice tool, but I wouldn't buy this pedal for the Looper portion of it name.
In Conclusion
Buy a Boss DD-7. I find it very hard to use delays much longer than a few seconds, so the difference, to me, in the max delay time means little. The setting are almost exactly the same and an external tap temp option means a lot. Hardwire might be going the way of the Dodo so there are chances to get these pedals at closeout prices. Digitech, the makers of Hardwire, played their hand wrong. Everything about the pedal says "quality" but its just a little too underdeveloped. Its not a bad pedal, but it can't compete with the other options in its bracket.
It's True Bypass-ish
There is a hidden switch they've included. Which I'm sure does something. However, knowing what I know, I can feel pretty sure saying that the switch does little in the way of bypassing the entire pedal. Like most of the pedals built in the "Boss" style, it has a momentary switch and that corresponds with a flip flop circuit and that by nature is not "true" bypass. I believe that it might bypass the buffer, or even the whole delay circuit, but that pedal wont switch without running though that flip flop. But the option to have a truer bypass is nice. I wish Boss would follow suit. This is a great feature and out of the box thinking, but before we praise them too much for their features, there is one feature that is such an oversight that Homer Simpson called them to tell them they were idiots.
There Is No External Tap Tempo Out
Sweet mercy! This is this the mother of blunders! To their credit, The Hardwire series that Digitech designed was put out just before everyone went crazy about tapping their tempos. Some of the bigger boxes like the Line6 DL4 and Boss DD-20 had either a disignated tap tempo button or jack for an external pedal. The DD-7, the most comparable pedal to this one, has nearly every feature plus the external tap tempo for the same money and less space on the pedalboard. However these pedals were most like designed at the same time by different people, so it is not like that had something to compare themselves to. Actually when you compare this pedal to the Boss DD-6, the Hardwire DL-8 beats it on all fronts. The DD-6 has less delay time and no external tap temp out. Too bad Boss upped the ante with the DD-7 and supplied a feature that was actually in demand.
Looper Might Be A Bit Of An Exaggeration.
To be honest I bought this pedal for a delay, but the Looper feature was surprisingly useful. I'm not a particularly enthusiastic fan of loops, but they can be useful. I use a Digitech JamMan for a band that was the only guitar player for. The looping feature is similar to the Sound On Sound feature found on most Boss delays. In fact, Boss could call all of their delay pedals delay/looper if Hardwire can call this pedal a looper. If you are looking for a delay and don't have great need of a superlative looping pedal, then this works for you. The best feature of the loop setting is that it is triggered by the input, making the beginning of the loop easier to start than timing the perfect stomp. This works at a great practice tool, but I wouldn't buy this pedal for the Looper portion of it name.
In Conclusion
Buy a Boss DD-7. I find it very hard to use delays much longer than a few seconds, so the difference, to me, in the max delay time means little. The setting are almost exactly the same and an external tap temp option means a lot. Hardwire might be going the way of the Dodo so there are chances to get these pedals at closeout prices. Digitech, the makers of Hardwire, played their hand wrong. Everything about the pedal says "quality" but its just a little too underdeveloped. Its not a bad pedal, but it can't compete with the other options in its bracket.
This pedal has tap tempo.
ReplyDeleteThis pedal has lasted longer on my pedal board than the DD7 did. Oh, and it does have tap tempo on all digital delay settings.
ReplyDeleteYep had TT, why would you need to tap tempo out?
ReplyDeleteThey mean external tap tempo *input*. So you don’t have to hold the pedal down for two seconds, tap your tempo, then go back to using it. With an external TT, you just tap your external pedal (literally a momentary switch) while playing.
ReplyDeleteThe regular digital delay portion of this pedal (left half of the 'Type' knob) is astonishing. It is as good as the Providence Delay 80s which I have owned. A haunting, super high class digital delay that sounds like a top-shelf rack unit. It's worth owning this pedal just for that sound. The additional features and delay types make this the best deal on earth in delay pedals, in my opinion, and I own several high-end delays and Lexicon rack units. I'm glad people missed the point of this pedal; it makes them available used at good prices.
ReplyDeleteI've got one might start using it again, the loopers only about 6 seconds šµ
ReplyDeleteI've had one of these pedals for about 10 years, it's a great pedal. I love running a Rhodes through it and sending the stereo output to two different speakers... feels like you're in outer space.
ReplyDeleteThis pedal is amazing!!
ReplyDeleteOne of the best delay pedals I own. Have had this since 2011. And who needs a tap tempo out - no one has the extra space on their pedal board to add another switch anyway. Use the tap tempo on the pedal - it's amazing.
ReplyDeleteAlso the flip flop circuits works either with a relay or a microcontroler and doesn't involve in the effect circuit but only on the switching method.you just replace the lugs of a 3pdt with pins of a microcontroller.Great pedal for its price
ReplyDeleteAn absolute contender for BEST delay in my opinion . Packed with useful features with ease of use design . Whats not to love about this pedal .
ReplyDelete